Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is seeking his fifth title going into the 2018 F1 season. In this picture, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes GP talks to the media during the launch of the Mercedes Formula One team's 2018 car, the W09, at Silverstone Circuit on February 22, 2018 in Northampton, England. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton has made it clear that there is only one goal going into the 2018 Formula 1 season and that is to win a fifth title for both him and the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

The two pre-season tests have concluded and the next stop for the drivers and the teams is the first race of the season at the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne on March 25.

Mercedes go into the season as favorites having won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles for the last four years, but are likely to be challenged by Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. The Italian team was the first team to get close to breaking the Silver Arrows’ dominance in 2017, but were unable to sustain the challenge.

The recent test results indicated that the reigning champions were still ahead of the chasing pack, but the actual gap was unclear. Hamilton praised his team after the second test and believes they are as prepared as they can be ahead of the first race of the campaign.

“It’s still difficult to know exactly where we are in comparison to Red Bull and Ferrari and we won’t fully know that until we get to the first race,” Hamilton said, as quoted on Planet F1. “But I feel like we’ve got as much information as we could in order to equip us with the best data to go to the season opener.”

The Briton also praised his team’s motivation to continue striving for better despite being the dominant force for the last four seasons, and believes he is in the best team on the grid simply for that one season.

“Everyone's done an incredible job and I want them to know we'll be giving it everything going into the first race and hopefully get the best of the Bulls and Ferraris," Hamilton wrote on Mercedes F1’s official site.

"It's really encouraging, being my sixth year with the team, to see how motivated everyone is. I think that's something we all have in common. Everyone's continuously pushing to better themselves, their work and take it to the next level.

"The unity I have seen develop at this team over the years, there is nothing like it. It is hands down the best team because we all work together, and that's really inspiring for me,” the British driver explained.

Mercedes and Hamilton are entering the season looking for their fifth title, while only the team is seeking its fifth consecutive title having been the dominant force since the V6 Turbo era began in 2014. Only Ferrari have achieved the feat having won six consecutive constructors’ championships between 1999 and 2004 with Michael Schumacher leading the charge.

The British four-time world champion won his first title with McLaren in 2008 and the next three with Mercedes in the last four years. He was only beaten to the title in 2016 when Nico Rosberg won the championship by five points.

"I will give it everything this season, title number five is the ultimate goal. Let's go for it!" Hamilton concluded.

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